Acer Hopes to Cash in On Impulse Buyers As Iconia B1 Hits British Supermarkets

Unless you’re like us – folks that are heavily interested in tech – then the chances of you spending a lot of money on a piece of tech are pretty slim. The iPhone and iPad have done a good job at permeating common culture but, at the end of the day the average consumer, that isn’t too interested in tech is going to spend as little as they can on technology. Pricing is key for us tech lovers but, to aim at those that aren’t interested in tech? Pricing is crucial. No normal person is going to pick up your device if it’s considered too expensive. The Kindle has been experiencing success for years because of its pricing – it’s right in the middle of impulse buy territory.

When it comes to Android tablets,the Nexus 7 aimed for impulse buyers who had an interest in tech but, for average folk it’s perhaps still a little pricey. Acer are going straigth to the throat of the impulse market with their new budget-minded tablet, the Iconia B1 in British supermarkets. As the only British member of staff here at AH I get a little jealous of how cheap things are in the sates when it comes to tech, at least froma straight conversion point of view. Acer are looking to do something about that, and sell a lot of units at the same time, by pricing the Iconia B1 at just £99 in supermarkets (read: Walmarts). The Iconia B1 is going for that impulse-friendly price-tag of £99 in ASDA and Sainsbury’s, both outlets that aren’t neccesarily known for their technology offerings.

THe Iconia B1 is hardly an impressive tablet, with a 7-inch display at just 1024 x 600, a dual-core MediaTek processor and questionable build-quality. Having said that, it does come with Jelly Bean and it’ll serve a lot of basic needs, like browsing the web and watching the odd YouTube video. It’s the pricing that could well give Acer a successful product. At just £99 shoppers are more likely to pick one of these up in the face of the £159 Kindle Fire or Nexus 7. I know which tablet I’d rather have though…